Dobro neck adjustment

[synop7]

Greetings from Canada

 

I received a Dobro Regal (RC2) trough UPS. By the way, never ever deal with those guys. The package traveled Vancouver-Montreal, it was over a month late and the incompetence and attitude of UPS is disgusting. I praise the seller, Westcoast Music from Vancouver for being so professsionnal. The wrapping made the difference. I you go to BC call them. I provide their adress and phone number on request.

 

The dobro traveled in a harshell case for all that time. The neck seems a little bit off, especiallly on the lower strings, over the 7th fret. Plus I noticed a small hair line fracture over the left side of the upper neck. Is it possible that only the varnish craked and the neck is still ok?

 

When I put a capo on the 2nd fret, the 6th string (tuned D), is off.

 

Do I worry over nothing?

 

Should I let it rest a couple of days outside the case and things will be better? (That's a Disney version of it) or am I in trouble?

 

My "luthier" is on vacation until september the 6th.

 

I need your usual wisdom

 

Thanks

[dave251]

First, consider your playing style....will you be using a slide? If so, then you will need to have the nut a bit too high for good intonation.

 

Check the octave harmonic for correct intonation. If you don't know how to do this....have someone show you.

 

There's not much adjustment can be done on a Dobro(spider res) guitar...but often, the spider can be rotated just a bit to correct for a minor intonation problem. There should also be a slight amount of length adjustment you can accomplish.

 

All that being said, rez guitars are NOTORIOUS for playing out of tune. Your best bet is to have your pro set it up for you, paying particular attention to nut height and the adjustability of the string length.

[54merk]

I don't quite understand what you are asking. Is this your first resonator? What do you mean the neck is off over the 7th fret? Do you mean it's buzzing?? One month to ship it from Vancouver??? What did UPS do, lose it?

 

As for intonation, resos are rather imprecise. The saddle is straight across with no compensation, and the stings are higher to faciliate sliding. Since they are mostly used for slide the frets are used as a guide and the player will compensate for tuning by controlling slide placement. Since you have a biscuit type reso make sure that the saddle is perpendicular to the strings by carefully measuring the distance to the end of the fretboard. If it's off you can loosen the strings and turn it slightlyt. Since it's attached, the cone will also move. Resos are really not hard to setup and Regals are well known to require setup work to make them playable.

 

Post back with more details.

[synop7]

54 merkwrote:

 

I don't quite understand what you are asking. Is this your first resonator? What do you mean the neck is off over the 7th fret? Do you mean it's buzzing?? One month to ship it from Vancouver??? What did UPS do, lose it?

 

Nope, it' my 2nd, but the first fully in metal.

 

The 6th string is out of tune from the 7th fret, so I just guessed the neck is off. Maybe I'm wrong. By the way, UPS lost my guitar twice between july the 23rd and yesterday

 

Thanks for you time

[54merk]

 

The 6th string is out of tune from the 7th fret, so I just guessed the neck is off. Maybe I'm wrong. By the way, UPS lost my guitar twice between july the 23rd and yesterday Thanks for you time

 

 

So it's off when you fret the strings or play with a slide? The high string height will cause them to be out of tune the further you play up the neck because the strings must be stretched farther to touch the frets.

 

I suggest using a chromatic tuner to check the harmonic at the 12th fret for each string. They won't be perfect but they should not be that far out. Also, as I said before, make sure the saddle is perpendicular. As for the neck being "off", it is possible that it was assembled crooked. That would be evident by it being off center to the strings. If the guitar is so bad that you cannot solve the problem with adjustments you'll have to return it, unfortunately.

[Freeman Keller]

I agree with 54merk that most reso's have some intonation problems and to check the harmonics at the 12th fret. It is possible that the cone or biscuit bridge has turned slightly - this can happen while restringing (some players do not remove all the strings so the bridge is held as each string is changed).

 

It is my believe that the guitar should come from the shop set up to be at least playable and that you should probably return it. btw - I have shipped guitars UPS several times with no problems - I insure them for value and trace the shipment on the UPS web page. If you want to have a luthier "tweek" the setup for your style, fine, but I think the shop owes you a playable guitar. Have you contacted the store and asked what they recommend?

 

It is also my belief that a biscuit bridge reso can be setup for both fretted and slide playing - it will be a compromise, but it can work. My model 33 Dobro has medium action, medium gauge strings, tuned down two half steps for "standard tuning" or to open C, D, or G for slide. I'm not crazy about the 14 fret 1-11/16 neck for slide but it is ok. And the intonation is tolerable when played up the neck fretted.

 

Last, but not least, if you have to rotate the bridge, loosen the cover plate slightly so the cone will rotate too (they are screwed together). The bridge should be perpendicular to the stings but you can angle it very slightly like it would be on an acoustic.